The Church recently announced that the Manti Temple renovation is complete and the open house will be held in early 2024. The Manti Temple is one of my favorites, and I wanted to do a brief post on what I anticipate we'll see when it comes to the results of the renovations. I think overall the outcome will be great, and the Manti Temple will remain the most well-preserved pioneer temple.
Preservation of the garden and world room murals. These murals were painted on canvas, so they have been cleaned and preserved and will still be in their rooms. I believe this is the case for the baptistry as well, but I'm not sure.
A duplicate of the creation room mural. Christensen's 1888 mural in the creation room was painted directly on the walls. The type of renovation the Church does on its temples requires them to get behind the walls, and so all (or at least most) of this mural would be removed. My understanding is that they are going to put up a reproduction so that it looks the same. (This means that the new oldest existing mural in a temple now goes to Laie.)
Increased accessibility. I'm curious to see how they will make the progression between endowment rooms, and most especially between the garden and world rooms, work. It's only a few steps between the other rooms, but it's about a dozen steps between the garden and world rooms. My guess is there will be a small lift, and ramps may replace stairs where feasible. (There are also ways to convert stairs to ramps, but I think the stairs are too steep for that.)
The addition of modern equipment. Basically, there are two ways they could convert the temple to add the film ceremony: have a blank spot at the front of the room (less mural) where the film is projected, or have a projector come down from the ceiling. I really hope it's the latter.
A well-preserved celestial room, sealing rooms, spiral staircases, and assembly room. I believe the renovation team has done their best to preserve these rooms and keep them looking accurate to the time period. After seeing the assembly hall in the St. George Temple, I'm sincerely hoping that the open house next year includes the assembly hall in Manti.
I'm mostly curious about what they did with the Garden Room. Did they retain Shepherd's mural from the 1940s or did they go back to the original from the 1880s? From what I understand, the original was under the 1940s mural, so the Church could go either route.
ReplyDeleteThey almost certainly will use the Shepherd mural as it's on canvas which can be removed and restored, while the Christensen mural was heavily damaged by water. Not to mention that the renovation itself likely replaced some of those walls.
DeleteI'll start by saying that am 17 years old and not a member of the Church (nor do I ever intend to be), so it's probably not in my place to be commenting. But I feel I have a few things to say:
ReplyDeleteI'm an architect and soon to be a published author. My novel, entitled The Life of Arti Usher has been in the works for several years. It features a lot of architectural symbolism, mostly inspired by Masonic and LDS traditions. I consider myself an "aspiring Freemason" - not yet old enough to join the Brotherhood, but still deeply connected to its message and philosophy. I have many LDS friends, as there is a meetinghouse in my community, and I know a surprising amount about the faith, despite being relatively distanced from it.
I find myself fascinated with the Pioneer Temples, especially those in Logan, Manti, and SLC. I love the progressive room style and the clever architectural devices. I have always been deeply partial to symbolism of every kind, and I see beauty in such symbols, even when they’re not directly linked to my own beliefs. I think symbols are a wonderful way to learn about the Supreme Being - whatever that may be for you. (I personally believe in a Masonic conception of God, the Great Architect.)
The Brazen Sea is probably one of my favorite architectural symbols. It makes more than a cameo in my novel. I love the oddity of the design and its inherent beauty. The geometrical/symbolic meaning of the Sea is probably my favorite thing about it, whether you see it as a baptismal font or simply an architectural feature.
The remodeling of the Logan and Salt Lake Temples has given me a lot of pain - strangely, as I've never even seen them. I equate it to cultural violence. To paraphrase John Ruskin, "Old buildings are not ours. They belong to the people who struggled and sacrificed to build them, and to the many generations who will continue to enjoy them." I am deeply saddened that an institution - one with a rich cultural and artistic heritage, no less - would stoop to the level of destroying that heritage. The Logan Temple was imperfect, and yes, to a degree even inefficient, but it had charm and beauty that no current structure of the church can hold a candle to. The same thing goes for Salt Lake. When I think of the atrocities the Church has committed against itself, I feel like crying.
I recently heard about the Manti Temple open house, and I’ve decided to spend my Christmas and birthday money on tickets to Utah to see it in person! It’s probably my third favorite building in the world – strange, given that I’m not a member of the Church. I love Teichert’s artwork and high Victorian architecture in general, and I have high hopes for the renovation/restoration. I think it’ll also be an excellent opportunity to learn more about the faith of some people I highly respect. And of course, I won’t fail to notice the Masonic parallels!
All that’s to say I’m deeply passionate about architecture, religion, spirituality, and symbols, and hope that this Temple open house will expand my knowledge. Thank you for your blog. It’s an excellent resource, and I’ve referred constantly to it when studying religious/symbolic architecture. Have an excellent week, and I hope I’ll run into you at Manti!
I'm glad you're here, Marvin! The architecture of the pioneer temples is obviously one of my favorite things to study and appreciate, too.
DeleteLong-time readers of this blog will know that it's no secret that I strongly favor preservation in nearly every circumstance. I do have difficulty equating changes to "cultural violence," only because there are so many other factors to be considered. The 1950s and 1960s in the U.S. were characterized by a general attitude of replacing old buildings with new, modern ones. This wasn't unique to the LDS Church in any way. The Logan Temple's gutting, as well as the loss of many beautiful tabernacles in this era, reflects that cultural context.
Also, there is quite a bit of LDS history that shows that even the pioneers would actively change building layouts and arrangements to cater to the ordinances. In both pioneer and modern times, the ordinances of the temple trump the architecture. I'm not excusing the gutting of the Logan Temple, and I still wish we'd reached a better compromise on the Salt Lake Temple (and, to be honest, St. George and Manti), but the original builders of those temples might have surprised you with what they'd be willing to do to support the work of the temple ordinances.
Again, I generally lean heavy toward the preservation side myself, but there are lots of factors to consider. If you nail down a date you're going to Manti let me know--if it works out with my schedule I'd be happy to go down there with you. I'm sure we'd have a great conversation!
Hello!
DeleteSorry for the incredibly late response - I've been awfully busy, but that's no excuse.
Thank you so much for your reply, and yes - we'll be at Manti around 1 April. I'd love to talk and learn from you, if we can make it happen. Also, do you have any book recommendations on the history of Pioneer Temples?
There was a framed lace art by the matrons office that I am really hoping will return. It was a man and woman in temple clothes kneeling across from eachother at an alter. At their hands was the seal of Melchizedek, representing Christ. It is the only artwork I have found featuring a temple ordinance and temple clothing.
ReplyDelete